Dental mounting



Feb. 11, 1930. R. w. GREENBERG DENTAL MOUNTING Filed Nov. 29 1926 Patented Feb. 11, 1930 oars STATS DENTAL MOUNTING Application filed November 29, 1926. Serial No. 151,272.

This invention relates to dental backings or mounting for artificial teeth.

The main object of my invention is to provide backings or mountings none of the metal of which is exposed at the front of the teeth so that the latter may be applied to abutments whether in the form of crowns, inlays, bases, saddles, pivots, plates, or a combination of any of the aforesaid, without displaying any of the backings or mountings in the mouth to give an artificialappearance, which can not be done with the forms of backings or mountings as heretofore most generally employed in dental work.

Another object of my invention is to provide backings or mountings which are simple in construction and inexpensive to make, thereby allowing most any practicing dentist to make and use the same from materials and equipment usually at hand.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the slotted 2 plate which forms a part of my improved backing; v r

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an artificial tooth showing the plate in dotted lines when first applied to the rear of the tooth;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shield in blank form before the slotted plate is applied thereto; 7 Fig. 4 is a perspective. view showing the plate inserted through the shield;

Figs. 5 and 6 are side and rear elevational views, respectively, showing the assemblyof the plate and shield applied to the tooth after first bending the shield to fit against the lower portion of the plate;

Fig. 7 is a side view showing the shield bent against the tooth to cover the plate and the anchor pins on the tooth engaged by the plate;

Fig. 8' shows how the backing is connected with an abutment, such as a pivot;

Fig. 9 is a front view of a plurality of teeth arranged side by side and joined to a common support through mountings of the individual teeth;

line 12,12 of Fig. 11.

In carrying out the details of my invention, I first cut from a strip of'high fusing gold alloy a flat rectangular piece or plate 1 and cut in it a pair of substantially parallel slots 2, 2 opening through one edge of the plate,

as shown in Fig. 1. I next provide a suitable artificial tooth 3 having a pair of headed anchor pins 4, 4 extending outward substantially the same distance from a flat surface 5 on the rear or lingual side of the tooth and having an'overhanging ledge or projection 6 extending across the rear of the tooth nearing its biting or incisal edge 8, as shown in Fig. 2.

7 he plate 1 is applied to the rear face 5 of the tooth and pushed up on the same to engage the pins 4, 4 in the slots-2, 2, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The heads of the pins 4, 4 are on the outer side of the plate 1 and extend across the slots so that the plate can not be drawn outward over the heads of the pins. The plate 1 is pushed up as far as permitted by contact with the projection 6,

and the slots 2 are made long enough to leave enough space between the pins 4 and the lower ends of the slots to allow for the thickness of the thin flexible shield piece 7, to be presently described.

. T first apply the plate 1 to the rear face 5 of the tooth before applying the plate to the shield piece 7 in order that the plate may be trimmed down to properly conform to the rear surface 5, should the plate as initially between the slots so as to cause the slottedend of sa d plate to extend above the flat piece 7, as shown in Fig. 4. T next bend the fiat piece 7 to have one portion lie in contact with the plate 1 below the slots 2, 2 and the other portion extending outward from the other side of the plate substantially at rightangles thereto, as shown in Fig. 5.

The next step is to apply the parts thus far assembled to the rear surface 5 of the tooth 3. This is done by pushing the plate 1 up on the pins 4, 4 as before until stopped by the projection or ledge 6. The shield 7 has its lower end caught between the lower end of the plate 1 and the adjacent rear side 5 of the tooth, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The remaining portion of the shield 7 is free and projects to the rear of the tooth, as shown in Fig. 5. This rear portion of the shield 7 is now bent up against the rear face of the projection 6 so as to enclose the plate 1 and pins 4, 4, as shown in Fig. 7. The ledge 6 projects slightly beyond the heads of the pins 4, 4 so that the shield 7 need not be bent inward around the heads of the pins to interfere with the withdrawing of the plate 1 with its shield 7 from the pins. The sides of the shield 7 are slightly shaped around the sides of the plate 1 and against the rear surface 5 of the tooth to enclose the same, as shown in Fig. 10.

The assembled plate 1 and shield 7 so shaped are withdrawn as a single unit from the tooth 3 and the shield is soldered to the lower portion of the plate 1 with very little solder so as to secure the two together. The plate 1 with its connected shield 7 are now replaced on the tooth over the pins 4, and the shield is burnished to shape it to the back of the tooth about the plate 1 over the pins 4, 4 and against the surface 5 and the projection 6. The shield 7 is then trimmed off around its edges to expose the portion of the tooth intended to be exposed. This completes the making of the backing or mounting for the tooth.

Now the tooth 3 is replaced on the plate 1, after oiling it slightly to prevent sticking, and the tooth is waxed up with sticky wax in the usual manner on a model to an abutment which may be a crown, inlay, pivot-base, plate, saddle, or a combination of the aforesaid, in proper position. The tooth 3 is then withdrawn carefully from the plate 1 and its attached shield 7 The assembly with its abutment are cut from the model, invested in the usual manner, the sticky wax washed out and all parts soldered with gold solder in the usual manner. The gold solder unites the plate 1 and the shield 7 to the abutment and forms the body of the mounting, as shown in Fig. 9. In this figure, the abutment is indicated by 11 and is in the form of a pivot. It extends through a base 12 into the body 10. In

Fig. 8 the shield 7 with the plate 1 attached extends over the lingual side of the artificial tooth as far as base 12 to give the solder or body 10 the proper form.

In mounting several teeth 3, 3 side by side, as in Fig. 9, the teeth with their assembled plates 1 and shields 7 are arranged in that relation and mounted on a model with sticky wax as before. The wax is washed out and gold solder flowed on to unite all the mountings with the abutments at the opposite ends of the assembly to form the body 10 common to all, as shown in Fig. 10. These teeth appear in front view, as in Fig. 9, with none of the metal showing on their front sides or at their incisal edges. After soldering, the assembly is ground, polished. and cleaned, and the teeth 3 are individually cemented in place in their respective mountings or backings to make a complete piece. In Figs. 9 and 10, I have shown a pivot abutment 11 for the piece at one end and a shell crown abutment 13 at the opposite end for anchoring the piece in place inthe mouth.

The backings or mountings of my invention being on the rear or lingual sides of the teeth and offset from the incisal edges there-= of, are completely hidden from view by the teeth themselves, with the result that none of the metal of the mountings is displayed or seen on the front or facial sides of the teeth when in the mouth. This is an important feature of my invention as there is no display of gold in the mouth to give an artificial ap pearance, which is not possible with mountings or backings as heretofore most generally employed in dental work. Moreover, with my invention the amount of material required for each mounting is materially reduced, thereby lessening both the expense and the work as well as the time of construction. Furthermore in making mountings by my lIIlplOX'Eid method, the tooth or teeth, as the case may be, are not on the backings either when the parts of the latter are soldered together or to their supports or abutments. Thus the tooth or teeth are not subjected to heat and thus are not in danger of being fractured or discolored. .lVith the metal of the mountings reduced to the minimum and all at the back of the teeth and offset above or below their incisal edges, depending on whether the teeth are for the upper or lower set, the teeth retain their life-like translucent appearance which adds to their effect as natural teeth. Then again, in case of breakage of a tooth, a new one may be readily and easily tted to the mounting of the broken tooth without undue effort or expense and without pain or annoyance to the patient.

The plate 1 constitutes the fastening member of the assembly, while the pins on the back of the tooth form the anchoring means with which the fastening member is engageable,

and I have described these elements in the claims.

In Figs. 11 and 12, I have shown a plate 1 with slots 2 as before. These slots, however, have their side edges grooved or channeled so as to receive the heads of the pins 4 and allow the heads to set back substantially flush with the outer surface of the plate, as shown in Fig. 12. This will allow a thicker plate to be used to gain strength without increasing the distance to which either the pins 4 or the ledge 6 must extend outward from the tooth. Moreover, with'the heads of the pins substantially flush with the outer surface of the plate, the shield 7 on being burnished will not be shaped over the upper sides of the heads of the pins to make pockets or depressions to interfere with an easy withdrawal of the assembly from the tooth.

In both plates 1 and 1 the slots are of equal size but the prongs on the opposite sides of the slots are narrower than the one between them. This reduces the amount of metal on the outer sides of the pins where not as much metal is required. This is a saving, as the metal from which the plates are made is more expensive than the shields. Moreover, with the outer prongs narrow, the flat surface 5 of the tooth at the sides of the plate is exposed sufficiently to receive the shield 7 and thus prevent the solder from getting into the space needed for the pins and the cement afterwards used.

The details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A backing for an artificial tooth, com

prising a shield made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of slots spaced apart and arranged substantially in a row, and a plate made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of extending portions spaced apart and substantially in a row, said extending portions extending through said slots in order to enable said shield to be supported upon said plate, said shield being provided with a portion bent to cover said extending portions of said plate.

2. A backing for an artificial tooth, comprising a. shield made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of slots spaced apart and arranged substantially in a row, and a plate made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of projecting portions spaced apart substantially in a row, said projecting portions extending through said slots in order to enable said shield to be supported upon said plate, said shield having a portion bent to cover said projecting portions of said plate, said portion of said shield being long enough to extend beyond the adjacent ends of said projecting portions of said plate.

3. A backing for an artificial tooth, comprising a shield made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of slots spaced apart and arranged substantially in a row, and a plate made of sheet material and provided with a plurality of projecting portions spaced apart and arranged substantially in a row, said projecting portions registering with said slots and extending through said slots in order to enable said shield to be supported upon said plate, said shield having a portion bent to cover said projecting portions of said plate, and having another portion bent in a direction different from the direction in which said first mentioned portion is bent.

4. A backing for an artificial tooth, comprising a plate provided with slots for receiving pins projecting from the tooth, said plate being further provided with countersunken grooves merging into said slots for receiving the heads of said pins, and a shield carried by said plate and made of sheet metal, said shield being provided with a portion ex tending over said slots and over said ountersunken grooves merging thereinto.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a-n artificial tooth provided with a face and with a projection extending slightly from said face, pins carried by said artificial tooth and extending slightly from said face, a plate provided with extending portions for engaging said pins in order to hold said tooth and said plate detachably together, and a shield carried by the plate and provided with slots through which said extending portions of said plate project in order to engage said pins, said shield having a portion fashioned to enclose said pins and abut against said projection extending from said face.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature this 1st day of November, 1926.

ROBERT W. GREENBERG. 

